The NYPD has arrested Tyrese Devon Haspil, a former personal assistant of Fahim Saleh, the tech entrepreneur who was found decapitated and dismembered in his Lower East Side apartment, according to police sources.
Haspil, 21, is expected to face second-degree murder and other charges after Saleh’s sister discovered the gruesome scene that included large plastic bags and an electric saw still plugged into the wall.
Saleh was found decapitated and dismembered on Tuesday. Authorities revealed on Thursday that Saleh was stabbed to death.
According to reports, Saleh had discovered that Haspil had stolen roughly $90,000 from him. Though Saleh, who friends said was a generous man, fired Haspil, he did not report the theft, the officials said. He even offered to arrange a way for his former employee to work off his debt in what amounted to a payment plan.
Haspil — wearing a ninja mask, suit and tie — turned on Saleh, using the Taser to immobilize his 33-year-old boss before repeatedly stabbing him in the chest and later carving him up with an electric saw, sources said.
Haspil used his own credit card to purchase the saw, and a Taser prong recovered from Saleh’s body bore a serial number connecting the suspect to the murder, sources indicated.
Police said the alleged killer returned to the apartment Tuesday, intending to dispose of the butchered body and clean the gore. But a cousin of the victim instead came by and discovered the body — with no arms, legs or head — as the suspect fled down a staircase, sources said.
The power tool was left inside the E. Houston St. condo where the victim’s mutilated remains were left in the living room. The killer “left before he finished the job,” a source said earlier in the week.
Haspil’s duties included handling Saleh’s finances and personal business, according to sources. It was unclear exactly when he was fired.
“All I know is he is a very good kid,” said an elderly woman who knew the suspected killer.
Haspil, wearing glasses with his hair cropped short, was led from the 7th Precinct in a white Tyvek suit, face mask, handcuffs and leg shackles. He remained silent, ignoring shouted questions from reporters, but kept his head up while walking slowly with two detectives.
His arrest hours earlier at a Manhattan apartment ended a three-day search. A source indicated that Haspil, who has no prior criminal record, asked for a lawyer right away and made no statements to police.
Saleh, co-founder of the Nigerian motorcycle ride-sharing service Gokada, was a talented businessman who launched his first company as a teen. The graduate of Bentley University in Waltham, Mass., was also involved in ride-sharing operations in Colombia and Bangladesh.
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